Abstract

Copper films (210 – 1650 Å) were deposited onto glass microslides by vacuum evaporation. The films were subjected
to heat treatment at a constant rate and the variation of electrical resistance with temperature was measured. The
defect density and activation energy were calculated for different thicknesses from the knowledge of the change in
electrical resistance with temperature and time. The defect density, F0 (E)max, varies from 17.2 to 6.05 μΩ•cm eV−1
in the thickness range 210 – 1650 Å whereas no appreciable variation in the activation energy is observed.

Thickness dependence of resistivity and temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) were studied in the above
thickness range and the bulk resistivity and TCR were found to be 1.75 μΩ•cm and 5.5 × 10−3 K−1 respectively.
Assuming the scattering coefficient to be zero, the mean free path of conduction electrons was estimated. From the knowledge of the bulk resistivity and mean free path, the Fermi surface area and the effective free electron density per atom were evaluated as 21.86 × 1016 cm−2 and 0.92 respectively.